Malawi bans imported meat products over listeria

The Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) has banned importation of meat and meat products from South Africa and other countries within the region due to the outbreak of listeria bacteria.

07March

MBS has further ordered for immidiate withdrawal of such products from supermarkets and other shopping outlets that stock imported meat and meat products from South Africa and and other countries within the region.

In a statement signed by MBS’s Quality Assurance Officer Steve Kamuloni, the Bureau said it would take action tageting specific outlets to ensure the affected stocks were removed from the market.

South Africa is currently in the middle of the biggest listeria outbreak ever seen, which has so far killed 180 people since January 2017, with nearly 1,000 cases reported, according to the UN World Health Organisation (WHO).

The country's Government has blamed producers of cold meat products for delays in tracing the cause.

The South African Government, which has been criticised for taking too long to find the cause, on Sunday linked the outbreak to a meat product known as "polony" made by Tiger's Enterprise Food.

It also said it was investigating a plant owned by RCL Foods that makes a similar product, whose shares also slid on Monday before recovering.

Both companies, which say they are cooperating with the authorities, suspended processed meat production at their plants after health authorities ordered a recall of cold meats associated with the outbreak from outlets at home and abroad.